PairCrafts

Crafting with Friends

Welcome to the very first segment of my recurring segment “Paircrafts – Crafting with Friends”.  “Fasten your seatbelts it’s gonna be a bumpy night.”

As you may know from my previous beading blog . . . I have an unnatural fear of crafts, artistic pursuits, and design-oriented activities stemming from the fact that mine all suck.  So, in my ongoing endeavor to overcome my irrational fears, I will use this segment to attempt unique crafts, explore the crafting creative process, and have some fun with my friends.

Now, I have no illusions that I will suddenly become an expert in all things crafty (or as I like to call it a craftspert).  But I do think that a having a creative release is good for mind, body and spirit.  Plus, who doesn’t like spending a ton of money on things that end up looking like the dog put it together J

My first PairCraft experience was with my good friend Diana (aka Internet Wonder Queen/aka Stick Figure Portraits Extraordinaire).  We spent a recent Saturday afternoon exploring the wonderful world of  . . . buttons.

“Buttons?!?!” you say (not somewhat incredulously).  “What could you do with buttons?”  It is a question I myself pondered.  In pursuit of the elusive “something new under the sun,” I requested that Diana put on her thinking cap and open her mind to conjure up things to “button.”  I requested that she avoid Pinterest and go original.  Of course, being The Internet Wonder Queen, that was just not possible for her.  So, she let me pick the projects, as I kept my mind  Pinterest-free zone.

First we needed to track down some buttons . . . “oh Jimmy . . . find me some buttons!”  And he came through, big time.  Turns out you can find collections of buttons at flea markets or antique stores.  And Jimmy loves him some antiquing.  Here is how Jimmy thinks you should craft with buttons – display them in a nice jar (upper left).

Or, if you are Diana, you ask your mom for buttons as she has been collecting for a number of years (thanks Joanne!!!!)

Next I bought the crafting supplies.  A quick trip to Michaels on a weekday before Christmas turned out to be less than quick.  I guess people are really into this crafting thing.

Button day arrives and we make a start.  You may or may not realize this, but any crafting project worth it’s salt, starts with a bottle of wine.  I mean, is there anything you can’t do with an empty wine bottle?  Why not cover it with buttons?  So first things first . . . poor yourself a glass and then get to buttoning.  Our list of items to button includes wine bottle, cake, coasters, jewelry (yeah, yeah, I know, this is all on Pinterest – turns out there really is nothing new under the sun).

Now’s the time on PairCrafts when we sort.  Do we do by size, by color, by cuteness?  Hmm . . .when you go in without much prep it is hard to determine, so we start by color and then go frost us a cake.  We discussed a design for the buttoned cake but then decided to go random.  Thankfully, Diana reminded me we should wash the buttons prior to buttoning the cake as that would be the first thing her husband would ask before eating it.  I knew there was a reason to have her here.  I think it turned out pretty.  Of course, this is not a cake you should eat with little kids or after drinking too much of the wine, lest someone needs to perform the Heimlich.

Sorting Fun

Mmm . . . cake

It feels really good to lightly press buttons into frosting

Finished Product

Next it’s on to coasters.  This is again where forethought is important otherwise you get a coaster that looks like mine (bottom right):

Diana has quite a bit more design savvy than me.  At the end, she took a marker and began to color in between the buttons.  I asked her why?  “It looks better to not see the cork board underneath,” she said, as if this coaster was actually going to adorn her coffee table.

Later on in the week I did do one with a little more planning.  It turned out slightly better (heavy emphasis on the slightly).

Next we tackled jewelry.  I have to say by this time I was kind of getting sick of buttons, so I abandoned my necklace/wreath wraparound and moved on to the wine bottle.  But Diana stuck with it, and came back with some pretty impressive earrings, don’t you think?  She tried them on and everything, and tweaked them so they hung better – like she was actually planning on wearing them!

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Now, in full fledge I-hate-button mode (the husbands were back and it was pizza time), I finished up my button wine bottle candle.  I think it is a nicely understated piece.

Becky Sum’s Up:  Diana and I had a great time with the buttons.  It was a fun way to spend the afternoon, chilling, and thinking of crazy crafts to do.  I recommend “PairCrafting” to everyone!  However, I do think that if you actually want to use the crafts you make, planning is needed.  So go out there and steal yourself some cool ideas from Pinterest!

Until next time . . . “let it flow”!